Hamburgers meet the definition of sandwich. Sorry. They just do. 😁

Kalamazoo airport is a bit of a pit. I am sorry on behalf of Michigan. You are lucky that your seat was not, "Here is a bungie cord, strap yourself to the wing!" Customer service is a laughable oxymoron at that airport.

M&M's.

And of these, leaving voluntarily is probably the best. Go on your own terms.

I am going to issue fighting words. Chocolate pie is the best. Pecan pie is second best. Live with it people! 😁😁😉

We be having a rumble! 😂😂😂😂😂 Who is the mod today? Better keep them on speed dial. It could get ugly.

Same. We bowed out of numerous family events at Mark's parents' home because it required so much money to make the 2800 mile round trip and would have meant that year after year, that was the only "vacation" there was. His parents' marriage was bad so we are not talking about a happy time there. His sister, who lived only an hour away plus his dad who always felt very entitled, were so unhappy with us. We went every third Christmas for a few days. That was it. In those other years, we used our money to go camping and fishing with the kids, to take them to historical places, to see new landscapes. If his sister had announced, "I am taking mom and dad to Bahamas for their 40th anniversary. You can come but you can't bring your family", Mark would have just said " Have fun, I am not spending my entire vacation fund on just myself, and at our income level, we don't give gifts worth thousands of dollars." To be honest, I think it is great that OP's husband wants to gift his dad the experience. But it is a very, very pricey experience. He should never have even brought it up with his siblings. It is tantamount to flaunting money. "Hey, I can afford to do this for dads and you should afford it too, just don't bring your wife or kids." That is not very nice and I can see how it came across. It should have been, "Hey dad, I want to do this for the two of us. Let's look at the calendar and work out a good time to make this trip." Then let the chips fall where they may in terms of what the siblings each wanted to do to honor his birthday, and gift what they felt was reasonable.

You need to come to Michigan where many dining establishments list burgers under the heading of "sandwiches" on their menus. It isn't universally true at all that people do not think of burgers as a kind of sandwich. No one says "Would you like a BLT sandwich?" either. They just call it a BLT. By your logic a BLT is therefore not a sandwich. I haven't heard anyone say "Grilled Cheese sandwich" in years, just grilled cheese, so this must mean that grilled cheese is not a sandwich. The definition of sandwich from Merriam Webster is, "Two or more slices of bread or split roll having a filling in between them" and also "a single slice of bread covered with food." Therefore, a hamburger and a hot dog are sandwiches since they are the filling in a split roll. 😁

Many hugs. I am so sorry.

I like this!

I think layers of protein and condiments or veggies and condiments or protein and cheese,which or cheese with veggies, this kind of thing between to layers of bread like substance is a sandwich. So a burger is a sandwich. A hot dog is a sandwich because rolls are a form of bread, and if the roll was cut where it joins, it would be no different than two individual pieces of bread. I am not saying hot dogs in buns make good sandwiches, just that they meet the definition. A sub is a sandwich, it meets all the requirements. What is NOT a sandwich, and I do not care how much my weirdo husbands says it is, is his toast with mayo, pickles sliced and laying on top, with garlic powder spread on top. This belongs in a category called, "Culinary Offense" which also includes escargo.

No Yael, you keep on posting. We need to know that you and your family is indeed safe or not, and we want your perspective on this whole hideous mess. Please don't leave!

And for what it is worth Chicago would be my last choice for any airport for any reason other than JFK. I'm are is a pit of despair for navigation. JFK is just a cattle chute of humans shoulder to shoulder in a bizarrely small space for the number of humans herded through there, and frankly, everyone seems stressed. We have gone through and had to stand for 3 straight hours because there was nowhere to sit, and that wasn't even on their busiest days/holidays. Chicago is just, well, big and inefficient. Midway is okay though.

For what it is worth, I do understand the anxiety. Our youngest has never had the opportunity to fly, and his job is sending him to Paris next year. So his first flight will be international. They are booking him from Chicago to Atlanta to Paris so he has to do three mega airports on his first go. We just told him to ask for directions, and to turn his phone on the minute he gets off the plane because both of us know Chicago well, and I know Atlanta and Paris. Thankfully, everyone working Charles De Gaulle speaks English, and Ds speaks some conversational French so we have high hopes he will be able to find the company driver once he exits the airport.

Charlotte has a very friendly staff. So if she has to change planes, she can actually as the flight attendant as she disembark where to find her connecting gate. It is entirely possible the flight attendant will even have that info ready. Then there will digital boards, maps, and other staff to ask after she gets off the plane so she can find out which way to go. At 17, I would not pay the flying minor thing. She is one year away from being an adult. It will be a good experience. Just have her be willing to say to flight staff, "This is my first time flying. Where do I go to find my connecting flight?" I have never known flight attendants who did not know the arrival airport well enough to help. Other passengers are often very helpful as well especially if one is honest and just indicates they are a newbie.

If you happen to get to Dollar General, right now all their fairy garden decorations are on clearance sale. You could run to the nursery or florist shop, buy here a lovely foresty looking house plant, and beautiful oversized pot, and then some fairy decorations to place in the pot.

$120 plus travel fees for my piano though she isn't super far out of tune..I have a baby grand. Brands are much easier to work on and tune than uprights.

I think that the other siblings probably feel like your dh has taken over the "what to do for dad's birthday" planning without consulting them, made the plan, set the rules, and they feel very left out. What he should have done was decide that his gift to his father was taking him to the game, called dad, decided on dates and game, and then executed but not on or over the birthday itself so that the other siblings had the option to have a party or take him out to eat or something. His big mistake was he wanted to do this for his dad as a gift, did not want to pay for anyone else to go along, but still announced this is what was going to be dad's birthday and then put up the restriction which is pretty controlling and not taking anyone else's feelings into consideration. He needs to call everyone up. Apologize. Then say that he should never have brought it up and just done it alone as his gift to his father because he cannot afford to buy everyone else a vacation, and since he can't pay for everyone, he shouldn't have invited them but then dictated what they can and cannot do with their own money which is just really offensive. If he was going to pay for he and his dad's flights, ticksts, AirBnB, and food, then he should have said that and said "I am renting an AirBnB and there will be room for up to 8 more people. While I can cover accommodation for 8, I cannot cover more than that so if you want to take any other family members, you will need to make your own hotel reservations and pay for them because it just isn't in my budget to do it for more people. Then let the chips fall where they fall. He doesn't have the right to control everyone else, and shouldn't expect anyone to be happy about him attempting to dictate this. Word to the wise. Never invite people to an event out of misplaced feelings of obligation and then get upset when the people invited take you up on it. The reality is that your dh didn't want anything of them to come so he should never have extended the invitation. There was nothing wrong with him choosing to do this for his dad, alone.

No pie. Bread bowls are bread. They have yeast, need to proof/rise, are filled with air holes instead of flaking because of a fat such has heavy amounts of butter or lard. I do like a good bread bowl though!

I am loving your pie club! 😂😂😂

First of all, the weird dessert pizza things are an affront to the dignity of real pizza. They don't count. Second, it if has yeast and has to proof/rise, then gets a bunch of air pockets in it, it is bread. I feel this is true, therefore I am declaring it true. 😁

❤❤❤

I ❤ this.

Yes. Americans tend to think of pie as a desserts and therefore, sweet. But in many countries pies are savory and filled with veggies and meats or veggies and cheeses for consumption as the main course. I make chicken pot pie on a regular basis.

PSA: This is the Michigan Mascot..not the official state animal which is an animal that doesn't even live here. 🙄 The real state animal mascot. You may think it is a raccoon. It is not. It is a Trash Panda. It will terrorize your camp. It is not scared of anything. Not ones thing. Every last one of them has the same mentality as Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy. Usually, they are foraging for twinkies, ho-hos, cosmic brownies, snickers, and marshmallows. Throwing it anything that "naturalists" say they should eat will only earn you scorn, derision, and increased evil Trash Panda activities. You can get away with tossing graham crackers into the woods. Sometimes they will follow them. This one is names Ziggy. He occupies campsite 33 at Warren Dunes State Park along with his cohort in crime, Roy. Ziggy actually comes and sits at the campfire usually less than two feet from you and begs for bites much like toddlers hovering over their mother's plate. Don't be fooled, later he will be trying to claw his way into your tent. So be aware. 😁